{"id":714804,"date":"2026-06-04T15:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/714804\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:52:17","slug":"game-preview-1-blue-bombers-at-stampeders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/714804\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Preview | #1: Blue Bombers at Stampeders"},"content":{"rendered":"

They did a forward somersault dive with a zillion rotations into the Canadian Football League free agent pool, made some dramatic changes to Mike O\u2019Shea\u2019s coaching staff, plucked some new homegrown talent in the draft and unearthed the usual collection of finds from south of the border.<\/p>\n

Yet, it could be said the most important player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as the lights go up on their 2026 season is the most obvious: quarterback Zach Collaros.<\/p>\n

Now, no doubt some of you at this point are screaming aloud \u2014 \u2018thanks for the brilliant insight, Eddie boy\u2019 \u2014 but sometimes if the dots are that big, that fat and obviously staring you right in the mug, you simply go ahead and draw the straight lines to connect them all.<\/p>\n

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Kickoff: Friday, 8 p.m. CDT; McMahon Stadium, Winnipeg
TV\/Streaming: TSN, CBS SportsNetwork;\u00a0CFL+<\/a>
Radio: 680 CJOB (pre-game: 6 p.m\/. CDT); Play-by-play: Derek Taylor\/analyst: Doug Brown
Calgary weather forecast:\u00a0Sunny with a high of 22C; Clear overnight, low 10C
Preseason records: Wpg: 0-2; Cal.: 2-0
PlayNow odds: The Stampeders are favoured by 1.5.<\/p>\n

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So, let\u2019s not complicate things here: if the Blue Bombers are to flex in the CFL\u2019s West Division again, they\u2019ll need their MIP \u2014 Most Important Player \u2014 to stay healthy and find his mojo again after his most difficult season in blue and gold a year ago.<\/p>\n

And, sure, you could certainly say the same damn thing about every football team in every league, but as Collaros goes in 2026, so go the Blue Bombers.<\/p>\n

To that end, they\u2019ve parachuted in a familiar face to him in new offensive coordinator Tommy Condell, went out and snagged the best offensive tackle on the market in Jarell Broxton and added two quality starting receivers in Tim White and Tommy Nield.<\/p>\n

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The early returns through training camp have been nothing but positive and, with that, hope has again entered the Blue Bombers offensive huddle. And so, Nic Demski, what should we expect this season from Collaros, the veteran 37-year-old pivot who turns 38 in August?<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot,\u201d began the veteran receiver this week. \u201cZach\u2019s a competitor. He\u2019s ready for a lot of big plays and he has a familiar face in Tommy, as well. That revamped him in a way, so I think it\u2019s going to be a great year.<\/p>\n

\u201cZach was very heavily involved in the offseason in making our playbook and installing everything and even when we\u2019re in our meetings, he\u2019s very vocal with what he wants from the receivers and when you delete the assumptions from the quarterback position as well it doesn\u2019t leave a lot of room for error.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as we perform for him, I know he\u2019s going to deliver the ball to where it needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a massive year for Collaros in so many ways as he enters the final year of his current contract. Over the last two years his touchdown-to-interception differential dipped to 34:31, including a career-high 16 picks last year. Just for context, from 2021 through 2023 that ratio of 90:34 as he won back-to-back CFL Most Outstanding Player Awards in 2021-22.<\/p>\n

Yet, ask anyone who has been around him this winter through training camp and they\u2019ll insist his competitive fire is still raging.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s so competitive, man,\u201d said White, one of the new targets. \u201cHe\u2019s not just a competitor in the way you might think, he\u2019s internally motivated and driven. If he makes a bad throw, he\u2019s on himself hard. He\u2019s such a leader. Being around him has already been a great experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see how many reps he takes in practice and you\u2019re like, \u2018Man, this guy is driven.\u2019 It makes you want to take more reps as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still got that fire and that high compete level,\u201d added Nield. \u201cHe\u2019s a veteran leader out there. Whatever people may be saying about him, I don\u2019t know. I will say he\u2019s still doing it at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Collaros missed five starts last year and didn\u2019t finish a couple other games due to injury. Yet, even with that there were still the flashes of the brilliance that has him now among the franchise QB greats, including a 334-yard\/three touchdown effort in a win over Edmonton and 367-yard performance in a victory over Hamilton.<\/p>\n

Critical now for the Blue Bombers is to see that more regularly. In short, it\u2019s about fuelling his fire again. Or as Willie Jefferson has said often over the years, the club simply wants to see \u2018Zach cook.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cEven just going against our defence he always wants to win and that\u2019s what makes Zach, Zach,\u201d said Demski. \u201cHe very much pays attention to detail and always focussed on his craft. Sometimes I tell the quarterbacks I work with in the offseason to look at Zach\u2019s film and his footwork \u2014 his attention to detail and how he hitches and gets the ball out. Everything he does, he\u2019s going full throttle at it and wants to make sure he\u2019s doing it perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cZach always comes out with something to prove. He\u2019s competitor. I sound like a broken record saying that, but that\u2019s just him. Every year is a new opportunity for him and he sees every year as his last year whether he has a contract in place or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s going to come out here firing on all cylinders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OWN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD AGAIN<\/p>\n

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A telling number from 2025 that was a massive factor in the team tumbling from the high-rent district to 10-8 and on the road for the first round of the playoffs: Winnipeg was just 4-6 vs. West Division rivals last season, its first losing record in the division since 2018.<\/p>\n

That record included three losses to the Stampeders, FYI.<\/p>\n

Dating back to 2016 here is the Blue Bombers record vs. the West and overall:<\/p>\n

2025 \u2014 vs. West: 4-6; overall: 10-8 \u2014 4th in the West
2024 \u2014 vs. West: 7-3; overall: 11-7 \u2014 1st in the West
2023 \u2014 vs. West: 10-2; overall: 14-4 \u2014 1st in the West
2022 \u2014 vs. West: 10-1; overall: 15-3 \u2014 1st in the West
2021 \u2014 vs. West: 8-1; overall: 11-3 \u2014 1st in the West*
2019 \u2014 vs. West: 7-3; overall: 11-7 \u2014 3rd in the West*
2018 \u2014 vs. West: 4-6; overall: 10-8 \u2014 3rd in the West
2017 \u2014 vs. West: 6-4; overall: 12-6 \u2014 2nd in the West
2016 \u2014 vs. West: 5-5; overall: 11-7 \u2014 3rd in the West
* \u2013 Grey Cup champions<\/p>\n

Flipping those totals back to a winning mark \u2014 especially in what looks again to be an ultra-competitive West Division \u2014 could be the difference between a home playoff date or venturing on the road again when the games are sudden victory\/sudden death.<\/p>\n

NEW FACES<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Blue Bombers have posted a franchise record nine consecutive double-digit win seasons since 2016 and with that run, which includes five straight Grey Cup appearances and two championships, comes a great deal of continuity.<\/p>\n

That said, this team has undergone a significant facelift since losing to Montreal in the Eastern Semi-Final last November. There will be eight new starters taking to the field Friday in Calgary in White, Nield and Broxton mentioned above, along with centre Tyler Elsbury on offence and cornerbacks Jonathan Moxey and Major Williams, defensive tackle Jake Ceresna and defensive end Kydran Jenkins on defence.<\/p>\n

ICYMI, here\u2019s our piece from Wednesday on the Blue Bombers Fab Free Agent Five in Broxton, White, Nield, Ceresna and Moxey.<\/p>\n

48-Hour Primer | Game 1: Blue Bombers at Stampeders<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But also worth noting is this: there are also seven other players who are also making their Blue Bombers debuts on Friday including quarterbacks Taylor Elgersma and Bryce Perkins, defensive lineman De\u2019Shaan Dixon and four members of the club\u2019s 2026 CFL Canadian Draft class in defensive end Nuer Gatkuoth, tight end Dante Daniels, defensive back Ethan Stuart and linebacker Brody Clark.<\/p>\n

THE CONDELL EFFECT<\/p>\n

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Each new face has had their \u2018wow\u2019 moment or moments in training camp and the two preseason games, but no one change has drawn more consistent praise than Condell, the new offensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

Winnipeg\u2019s passing attack has been in decline for a couple of seasons now while the run game with Brady Oliveira has been a mainstay. Consider that just three years ago Winnipeg ranked first in net offence (414.7), first in rushing (139.1), second in passing (292.4) and second in sacks allowed (33).<\/p>\n

Last season the Blue Bombers finished second in rushing yards per game (124.1), but ninth in passing (235.0); fifth in net offence (345.7 yards per game) and sixth in sacks allowed (37).<\/p>\n

What this attack looks like on Friday will be one of the game\u2019s juicy subplots.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be able to do a lot of stuff here,\u201d said Demski earlier this week. \u201cTommy has obviously been around this league for a while and that expertise that he brings and all that good stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our O-line and the way we run the ball and the way we can pass the ball and attack teams, we\u2019re going to have a lot of explosives in a lot of different ways. Our biggest thing is taking care of the football and we all know that. If we do that effectively I think we\u2019ll be very effective going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith (Condell\u2019s) expertise and what he\u2019s seen around the league, what he can bring to this offence \u2013 and what we have here already \u2013 it\u2019s a perfect match made in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE LINEUP: The Blue Bombers depth chart for tomorrow is here:<\/p>\n

FULL DEPTH CHART<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

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